As the World Cup winner, Josh, who started out riding off-road around Poynton, was the last rider to race down the hill at the world championship as thousands of spectators watched his ride in anticipation of the exciting climax to the competition.

Josh was seconds clear in the lead as he came into the final jump – but he overshot it, launching high into the air and landing badly to crush his foot as he hit the ground.

He freewheeled with his injured foot to cross the line, but sadly his error had cost him the title, securing a silver instead - just 0.4 seconds behind his GB team mate Gee Atherton.

Josh over-shooting the landing on the final jump

Josh, who is nicknamed Rat Boy and lives on a canal boat in Higher Poynton, missed his time on the podium to be rushed to hospital in Lillehammer where he underwent a four-hour operation on his broken and dislocated foot. His mum Luisa, who lives in Poynton, said: “Josh was in the lead by seconds but overshot the bridge jump. It’s such a shame because he was having a great year and was favourite to win but made a little mistake.

“He wasn’t going to stop, I knew what had happened when I saw he wasn’t pedalliing to the end.”

Josh, who grew up in Poynton with mum Luisa, dad Iain, and sister Maria, remained in hospital to recover and it’s hoped he’ll be back in Poynton at the weekend. It’s certainly not the first time under the knife for Josh– part of the California-based Santa Cruz Syndicate racing team – who has also suffered a dislocated hip and broken collar bone among a catalogue of injuries.

Mum Luisa said it won’t stop him getting back on his bike.

She said: “Josh is dealing with it really well. He’s the most fun-loving easy-going lad you could wish to meet and has been very philosophical about it.

“He’s had lots of injuries – it’s part of the sport. As his mum it’s horrible to watch, but as long as he’s happy doing what he loves, then I’m happy. It’s up to Josh now – hopefully he can recover fully if he concentrates on his rehabilitation. But he’ll definitely be fighting back.”